As Introduced

130th General Assembly
Regular Session
2013-2014
H. B. No. 663


Representatives Buchy, Huffman 


A BILL
To amend section 149.43 and to enact sections 1
2949.221 and 2949.222 of the Revised Code to 2
provide confidentiality and license protection for 3
persons and entities involved in executing a 4
sentence of capital punishment by lethal injection 5
and to void as against public policy any agreement 6
that prevents the supplying of any drug or drugs 7
to be used in executing a sentence of capital 8
punishment by lethal injection, and to amend the 9
version of section 149.43 of the Revised Code that 10
is scheduled to take effect on March 20, 2015, to 11
continue the provisions of this act on and after 12
that date.13


BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

       Section 1. That section 149.43 be amended and sections 14
2949.221 and 2949.222 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as 15
follows:16

       Sec. 149.43.  (A) As used in this section:17

       (1) "Public record" means records kept by any public office, 18
including, but not limited to, state, county, city, village, 19
township, and school district units, and records pertaining to the 20
delivery of educational services by an alternative school in this 21
state kept by the nonprofit or for-profit entity operating the 22
alternative school pursuant to section 3313.533 of the Revised 23
Code. "Public record" does not mean any of the following:24

       (a) Medical records;25

       (b) Records pertaining to probation and parole proceedings or 26
to proceedings related to the imposition of community control 27
sanctions and post-release control sanctions;28

       (c) Records pertaining to actions under section 2151.85 and 29
division (C) of section 2919.121 of the Revised Code and to 30
appeals of actions arising under those sections;31

       (d) Records pertaining to adoption proceedings, including the 32
contents of an adoption file maintained by the department of 33
health under section 3705.12 of the Revised Code;34

       (e) Information in a record contained in the putative father 35
registry established by section 3107.062 of the Revised Code, 36
regardless of whether the information is held by the department of 37
job and family services or, pursuant to section 3111.69 of the 38
Revised Code, the office of child support in the department or a 39
child support enforcement agency;40

       (f) Records listed in division (A) of section 3107.42 of the 41
Revised Code or specified in division (A) of section 3107.52 of 42
the Revised Code;43

       (g) Trial preparation records;44

       (h) Confidential law enforcement investigatory records;45

       (i) Records containing information that is confidential under 46
section 2710.03 or 4112.05 of the Revised Code;47

       (j) DNA records stored in the DNA database pursuant to 48
section 109.573 of the Revised Code;49

       (k) Inmate records released by the department of 50
rehabilitation and correction to the department of youth services 51
or a court of record pursuant to division (E) of section 5120.21 52
of the Revised Code;53

       (l) Records maintained by the department of youth services 54
pertaining to children in its custody released by the department 55
of youth services to the department of rehabilitation and 56
correction pursuant to section 5139.05 of the Revised Code;57

       (m) Intellectual property records;58

       (n) Donor profile records;59

       (o) Records maintained by the department of job and family 60
services pursuant to section 3121.894 of the Revised Code;61

       (p) Peace officer, parole officer, probation officer, 62
bailiff, prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, 63
correctional employee, community-based correctional facility 64
employee, youth services employee, firefighter, EMT, or 65
investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and 66
investigation residential and familial information;67

       (q) In the case of a county hospital operated pursuant to 68
Chapter 339. of the Revised Code or a municipal hospital operated 69
pursuant to Chapter 749. of the Revised Code, information that 70
constitutes a trade secret, as defined in section 1333.61 of the 71
Revised Code;72

       (r) Information pertaining to the recreational activities of 73
a person under the age of eighteen;74

       (s) Records provided to, statements made by review board 75
members during meetings of, and all work products of a child 76
fatality review board acting under sections 307.621 to 307.629 of 77
the Revised Code, and child fatality review data submitted by the 78
child fatality review board to the department of health or a 79
national child death review database, other than the report 80
prepared pursuant to division (A) of section 307.626 of the 81
Revised Code;82

       (t) Records provided to and statements made by the executive 83
director of a public children services agency or a prosecuting 84
attorney acting pursuant to section 5153.171 of the Revised Code 85
other than the information released under that section;86

       (u) Test materials, examinations, or evaluation tools used in 87
an examination for licensure as a nursing home administrator that 88
the board of executives of long-term services and supports 89
administers under section 4751.04 of the Revised Code or contracts 90
under that section with a private or government entity to 91
administer;92

       (v) Records the release of which is prohibited by state or 93
federal law;94

       (w) Proprietary information of or relating to any person that 95
is submitted to or compiled by the Ohio venture capital authority 96
created under section 150.01 of the Revised Code;97

       (x) Financial statements and data any person submits for any 98
purpose to the Ohio housing finance agency or the controlling 99
board in connection with applying for, receiving, or accounting 100
for financial assistance from the agency, and information that 101
identifies any individual who benefits directly or indirectly from 102
financial assistance from the agency;103

       (y) Records listed in section 5101.29 of the Revised Code;104

       (z) Discharges recorded with a county recorder under section 105
317.24 of the Revised Code, as specified in division (B)(2) of 106
that section;107

       (aa) Usage information including names and addresses of 108
specific residential and commercial customers of a municipally 109
owned or operated public utility;110

       (bb) Records described in division (C) of section 187.04 of 111
the Revised Code that are not designated to be made available to 112
the public as provided in that division;113

       (cc) Information and records that relate in any manner to the 114
execution of a sentence of death and that are made confidential, 115
privileged, and not subject to disclosure under section 2949.222 116
of the Revised Code.117

       (2) "Confidential law enforcement investigatory record" means 118
any record that pertains to a law enforcement matter of a 119
criminal, quasi-criminal, civil, or administrative nature, but 120
only to the extent that the release of the record would create a 121
high probability of disclosure of any of the following:122

       (a) The identity of a suspect who has not been charged with 123
the offense to which the record pertains, or of an information 124
source or witness to whom confidentiality has been reasonably 125
promised;126

       (b) Information provided by an information source or witness 127
to whom confidentiality has been reasonably promised, which 128
information would reasonably tend to disclose the source's or 129
witness's identity;130

       (c) Specific confidential investigatory techniques or 131
procedures or specific investigatory work product;132

       (d) Information that would endanger the life or physical 133
safety of law enforcement personnel, a crime victim, a witness, or 134
a confidential information source.135

       (3) "Medical record" means any document or combination of 136
documents, except births, deaths, and the fact of admission to or 137
discharge from a hospital, that pertains to the medical history, 138
diagnosis, prognosis, or medical condition of a patient and that 139
is generated and maintained in the process of medical treatment.140

       (4) "Trial preparation record" means any record that contains 141
information that is specifically compiled in reasonable 142
anticipation of, or in defense of, a civil or criminal action or 143
proceeding, including the independent thought processes and 144
personal trial preparation of an attorney.145

       (5) "Intellectual property record" means a record, other than 146
a financial or administrative record, that is produced or 147
collected by or for faculty or staff of a state institution of 148
higher learning in the conduct of or as a result of study or 149
research on an educational, commercial, scientific, artistic, 150
technical, or scholarly issue, regardless of whether the study or 151
research was sponsored by the institution alone or in conjunction 152
with a governmental body or private concern, and that has not been 153
publicly released, published, or patented.154

       (6) "Donor profile record" means all records about donors or 155
potential donors to a public institution of higher education 156
except the names and reported addresses of the actual donors and 157
the date, amount, and conditions of the actual donation.158

       (7) "Peace officer, parole officer, probation officer, 159
bailiff, prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, 160
correctional employee, community-based correctional facility 161
employee, youth services employee, firefighter, EMT, or 162
investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and 163
investigation residential and familial information" means any 164
information that discloses any of the following about a peace 165
officer, parole officer, probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting 166
attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, 167
community-based correctional facility employee, youth services 168
employee, firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau of 169
criminal identification and investigation:170

       (a) The address of the actual personal residence of a peace 171
officer, parole officer, probation officer, bailiff, assistant 172
prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, community-based 173
correctional facility employee, youth services employee, 174
firefighter, EMT, or an investigator of the bureau of criminal 175
identification and investigation, except for the state or 176
political subdivision in which the peace officer, parole officer, 177
probation officer, bailiff, assistant prosecuting attorney, 178
correctional employee, community-based correctional facility 179
employee, youth services employee, firefighter, EMT, or 180
investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and 181
investigation resides;182

       (b) Information compiled from referral to or participation in 183
an employee assistance program;184

       (c) The social security number, the residential telephone 185
number, any bank account, debit card, charge card, or credit card 186
number, or the emergency telephone number of, or any medical 187
information pertaining to, a peace officer, parole officer, 188
probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting attorney, assistant 189
prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, community-based 190
correctional facility employee, youth services employee, 191
firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau of criminal 192
identification and investigation;193

       (d) The name of any beneficiary of employment benefits, 194
including, but not limited to, life insurance benefits, provided 195
to a peace officer, parole officer, probation officer, bailiff, 196
prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional 197
employee, community-based correctional facility employee, youth 198
services employee, firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau 199
of criminal identification and investigation by the peace 200
officer's, parole officer's, probation officer's, bailiff's, 201
prosecuting attorney's, assistant prosecuting attorney's, 202
correctional employee's, community-based correctional facility 203
employee's, youth services employee's, firefighter's, EMT's, or 204
investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and 205
investigation's employer;206

       (e) The identity and amount of any charitable or employment 207
benefit deduction made by the peace officer's, parole officer's, 208
probation officer's, bailiff's, prosecuting attorney's, assistant 209
prosecuting attorney's, correctional employee's, community-based 210
correctional facility employee's, youth services employee's, 211
firefighter's, EMT's, or investigator of the bureau of criminal 212
identification and investigation's employer from the peace 213
officer's, parole officer's, probation officer's, bailiff's, 214
prosecuting attorney's, assistant prosecuting attorney's, 215
correctional employee's, community-based correctional facility 216
employee's, youth services employee's, firefighter's, EMT's, or 217
investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and 218
investigation's compensation unless the amount of the deduction is 219
required by state or federal law;220

       (f) The name, the residential address, the name of the 221
employer, the address of the employer, the social security number, 222
the residential telephone number, any bank account, debit card, 223
charge card, or credit card number, or the emergency telephone 224
number of the spouse, a former spouse, or any child of a peace 225
officer, parole officer, probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting 226
attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, 227
community-based correctional facility employee, youth services 228
employee, firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau of 229
criminal identification and investigation;230

       (g) A photograph of a peace officer who holds a position or 231
has an assignment that may include undercover or plain clothes 232
positions or assignments as determined by the peace officer's 233
appointing authority.234

       As used in divisions (A)(7) and (B)(9) of this section, 235
"peace officer" has the same meaning as in section 109.71 of the 236
Revised Code and also includes the superintendent and troopers of 237
the state highway patrol; it does not include the sheriff of a 238
county or a supervisory employee who, in the absence of the 239
sheriff, is authorized to stand in for, exercise the authority of, 240
and perform the duties of the sheriff.241

       As used in divisions (A)(7) and (B)(5)(9) of this section, 242
"correctional employee" means any employee of the department of 243
rehabilitation and correction who in the course of performing the 244
employee's job duties has or has had contact with inmates and 245
persons under supervision.246

        As used in divisions (A)(7) and (B)(5)(9) of this section, 247
"youth services employee" means any employee of the department of 248
youth services who in the course of performing the employee's job 249
duties has or has had contact with children committed to the 250
custody of the department of youth services.251

       As used in divisions (A)(7) and (B)(9) of this section, 252
"firefighter" means any regular, paid or volunteer, member of a 253
lawfully constituted fire department of a municipal corporation, 254
township, fire district, or village.255

       As used in divisions (A)(7) and (B)(9) of this section, "EMT" 256
means EMTs-basic, EMTs-I, and paramedics that provide emergency 257
medical services for a public emergency medical service 258
organization. "Emergency medical service organization," 259
"EMT-basic," "EMT-I," and "paramedic" have the same meanings as in 260
section 4765.01 of the Revised Code.261

       As used in divisions (A)(7) and (B)(9) of this section, 262
"investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and 263
investigation" has the meaning defined in section 2903.11 of the 264
Revised Code.265

       (8) "Information pertaining to the recreational activities of 266
a person under the age of eighteen" means information that is kept 267
in the ordinary course of business by a public office, that 268
pertains to the recreational activities of a person under the age 269
of eighteen years, and that discloses any of the following:270

       (a) The address or telephone number of a person under the age 271
of eighteen or the address or telephone number of that person's 272
parent, guardian, custodian, or emergency contact person;273

       (b) The social security number, birth date, or photographic 274
image of a person under the age of eighteen;275

       (c) Any medical record, history, or information pertaining to 276
a person under the age of eighteen;277

       (d) Any additional information sought or required about a 278
person under the age of eighteen for the purpose of allowing that 279
person to participate in any recreational activity conducted or 280
sponsored by a public office or to use or obtain admission 281
privileges to any recreational facility owned or operated by a 282
public office.283

       (9) "Community control sanction" has the same meaning as in 284
section 2929.01 of the Revised Code.285

       (10) "Post-release control sanction" has the same meaning as 286
in section 2967.01 of the Revised Code.287

        (11) "Redaction" means obscuring or deleting any information 288
that is exempt from the duty to permit public inspection or 289
copying from an item that otherwise meets the definition of a 290
"record" in section 149.011 of the Revised Code.291

       (12) "Designee" and "elected official" have the same meanings 292
as in section 109.43 of the Revised Code.293

       (B)(1) Upon request and subject to division (B)(8) of this 294
section, all public records responsive to the request shall be 295
promptly prepared and made available for inspection to any person 296
at all reasonable times during regular business hours. Subject to 297
division (B)(8) of this section, upon request, a public office or 298
person responsible for public records shall make copies of the 299
requested public record available at cost and within a reasonable 300
period of time. If a public record contains information that is 301
exempt from the duty to permit public inspection or to copy the 302
public record, the public office or the person responsible for the 303
public record shall make available all of the information within 304
the public record that is not exempt. When making that public 305
record available for public inspection or copying that public 306
record, the public office or the person responsible for the public 307
record shall notify the requester of any redaction or make the 308
redaction plainly visible. A redaction shall be deemed a denial of 309
a request to inspect or copy the redacted information, except if 310
federal or state law authorizes or requires a public office to 311
make the redaction.312

       (2) To facilitate broader access to public records, a public 313
office or the person responsible for public records shall organize 314
and maintain public records in a manner that they can be made 315
available for inspection or copying in accordance with division 316
(B) of this section. A public office also shall have available a 317
copy of its current records retention schedule at a location 318
readily available to the public. If a requester makes an ambiguous 319
or overly broad request or has difficulty in making a request for 320
copies or inspection of public records under this section such 321
that the public office or the person responsible for the requested 322
public record cannot reasonably identify what public records are 323
being requested, the public office or the person responsible for 324
the requested public record may deny the request but shall provide 325
the requester with an opportunity to revise the request by 326
informing the requester of the manner in which records are 327
maintained by the public office and accessed in the ordinary 328
course of the public office's or person's duties.329

       (3) If a request is ultimately denied, in part or in whole, 330
the public office or the person responsible for the requested 331
public record shall provide the requester with an explanation, 332
including legal authority, setting forth why the request was 333
denied. If the initial request was provided in writing, the 334
explanation also shall be provided to the requester in writing. 335
The explanation shall not preclude the public office or the person 336
responsible for the requested public record from relying upon 337
additional reasons or legal authority in defending an action 338
commenced under division (C) of this section.339

       (4) Unless specifically required or authorized by state or 340
federal law or in accordance with division (B) of this section, no 341
public office or person responsible for public records may limit 342
or condition the availability of public records by requiring 343
disclosure of the requester's identity or the intended use of the 344
requested public record. Any requirement that the requester 345
disclose the requestor's identity or the intended use of the 346
requested public record constitutes a denial of the request.347

       (5) A public office or person responsible for public records 348
may ask a requester to make the request in writing, may ask for 349
the requester's identity, and may inquire about the intended use 350
of the information requested, but may do so only after disclosing 351
to the requester that a written request is not mandatory and that 352
the requester may decline to reveal the requester's identity or 353
the intended use and when a written request or disclosure of the 354
identity or intended use would benefit the requester by enhancing 355
the ability of the public office or person responsible for public 356
records to identify, locate, or deliver the public records sought 357
by the requester.358

       (6) If any person chooses to obtain a copy of a public record 359
in accordance with division (B) of this section, the public office 360
or person responsible for the public record may require that 361
person to pay in advance the cost involved in providing the copy 362
of the public record in accordance with the choice made by the 363
person seeking the copy under this division. The public office or 364
the person responsible for the public record shall permit that 365
person to choose to have the public record duplicated upon paper, 366
upon the same medium upon which the public office or person 367
responsible for the public record keeps it, or upon any other 368
medium upon which the public office or person responsible for the 369
public record determines that it reasonably can be duplicated as 370
an integral part of the normal operations of the public office or 371
person responsible for the public record. When the person seeking 372
the copy makes a choice under this division, the public office or 373
person responsible for the public record shall provide a copy of 374
it in accordance with the choice made by the person seeking the 375
copy. Nothing in this section requires a public office or person 376
responsible for the public record to allow the person seeking a 377
copy of the public record to make the copies of the public record.378

       (7) Upon a request made in accordance with division (B) of 379
this section and subject to division (B)(6) of this section, a 380
public office or person responsible for public records shall 381
transmit a copy of a public record to any person by United States 382
mail or by any other means of delivery or transmission within a 383
reasonable period of time after receiving the request for the 384
copy. The public office or person responsible for the public 385
record may require the person making the request to pay in advance 386
the cost of postage if the copy is transmitted by United States 387
mail or the cost of delivery if the copy is transmitted other than 388
by United States mail, and to pay in advance the costs incurred 389
for other supplies used in the mailing, delivery, or transmission.390

       Any public office may adopt a policy and procedures that it 391
will follow in transmitting, within a reasonable period of time 392
after receiving a request, copies of public records by United 393
States mail or by any other means of delivery or transmission 394
pursuant to this division. A public office that adopts a policy 395
and procedures under this division shall comply with them in 396
performing its duties under this division.397

       In any policy and procedures adopted under this division, a 398
public office may limit the number of records requested by a 399
person that the office will transmit by United States mail to ten 400
per month, unless the person certifies to the office in writing 401
that the person does not intend to use or forward the requested 402
records, or the information contained in them, for commercial 403
purposes. For purposes of this division, "commercial" shall be 404
narrowly construed and does not include reporting or gathering 405
news, reporting or gathering information to assist citizen 406
oversight or understanding of the operation or activities of 407
government, or nonprofit educational research.408

       (8) A public office or person responsible for public records 409
is not required to permit a person who is incarcerated pursuant to 410
a criminal conviction or a juvenile adjudication to inspect or to 411
obtain a copy of any public record concerning a criminal 412
investigation or prosecution or concerning what would be a 413
criminal investigation or prosecution if the subject of the 414
investigation or prosecution were an adult, unless the request to 415
inspect or to obtain a copy of the record is for the purpose of 416
acquiring information that is subject to release as a public 417
record under this section and the judge who imposed the sentence 418
or made the adjudication with respect to the person, or the 419
judge's successor in office, finds that the information sought in 420
the public record is necessary to support what appears to be a 421
justiciable claim of the person.422

       (9)(a) Upon written request made and signed by a journalist 423
on or after December 16, 1999, a public office, or person 424
responsible for public records, having custody of the records of 425
the agency employing a specified peace officer, parole officer, 426
probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting attorney, assistant 427
prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, community-based 428
correctional facility employee, youth services employee, 429
firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau of criminal 430
identification and investigation shall disclose to the journalist 431
the address of the actual personal residence of the peace officer, 432
parole officer, probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting attorney, 433
assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, 434
community-based correctional facility employee, youth services 435
employee, firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau of 436
criminal identification and investigation and, if the peace 437
officer's, parole officer's, probation officer's, bailiff's, 438
prosecuting attorney's, assistant prosecuting attorney's, 439
correctional employee's, community-based correctional facility 440
employee's, youth services employee's, firefighter's, EMT's, or 441
investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and 442
investigation's spouse, former spouse, or child is employed by a 443
public office, the name and address of the employer of the peace 444
officer's, parole officer's, probation officer's, bailiff's, 445
prosecuting attorney's, assistant prosecuting attorney's, 446
correctional employee's, community-based correctional facility 447
employee's, youth services employee's, firefighter's, EMT's, or 448
investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and 449
investigation's spouse, former spouse, or child. The request shall 450
include the journalist's name and title and the name and address 451
of the journalist's employer and shall state that disclosure of 452
the information sought would be in the public interest.453

       (b) Division (B)(9)(a) of this section also applies to 454
journalist requests for customer information maintained by a 455
municipally owned or operated public utility, other than social 456
security numbers and any private financial information such as 457
credit reports, payment methods, credit card numbers, and bank 458
account information.459

       (c) As used in division (B)(9) of this section, "journalist" 460
means a person engaged in, connected with, or employed by any news 461
medium, including a newspaper, magazine, press association, news 462
agency, or wire service, a radio or television station, or a 463
similar medium, for the purpose of gathering, processing, 464
transmitting, compiling, editing, or disseminating information for 465
the general public.466

       (C)(1) If a person allegedly is aggrieved by the failure of a 467
public office or the person responsible for public records to 468
promptly prepare a public record and to make it available to the 469
person for inspection in accordance with division (B) of this 470
section or by any other failure of a public office or the person 471
responsible for public records to comply with an obligation in 472
accordance with division (B) of this section, the person allegedly 473
aggrieved may commence a mandamus action to obtain a judgment that 474
orders the public office or the person responsible for the public 475
record to comply with division (B) of this section, that awards 476
court costs and reasonable attorney's fees to the person that 477
instituted the mandamus action, and, if applicable, that includes 478
an order fixing statutory damages under division (C)(1) of this 479
section. The mandamus action may be commenced in the court of 480
common pleas of the county in which division (B) of this section 481
allegedly was not complied with, in the supreme court pursuant to 482
its original jurisdiction under Section 2 of Article IV, Ohio 483
Constitution, or in the court of appeals for the appellate 484
district in which division (B) of this section allegedly was not 485
complied with pursuant to its original jurisdiction under Section 486
3 of Article IV, Ohio Constitution.487

       If a requestor transmits a written request by hand delivery 488
or certified mail to inspect or receive copies of any public 489
record in a manner that fairly describes the public record or 490
class of public records to the public office or person responsible 491
for the requested public records, except as otherwise provided in 492
this section, the requestor shall be entitled to recover the 493
amount of statutory damages set forth in this division if a court 494
determines that the public office or the person responsible for 495
public records failed to comply with an obligation in accordance 496
with division (B) of this section.497

       The amount of statutory damages shall be fixed at one hundred 498
dollars for each business day during which the public office or 499
person responsible for the requested public records failed to 500
comply with an obligation in accordance with division (B) of this 501
section, beginning with the day on which the requester files a 502
mandamus action to recover statutory damages, up to a maximum of 503
one thousand dollars. The award of statutory damages shall not be 504
construed as a penalty, but as compensation for injury arising 505
from lost use of the requested information. The existence of this 506
injury shall be conclusively presumed. The award of statutory 507
damages shall be in addition to all other remedies authorized by 508
this section.509

       The court may reduce an award of statutory damages or not 510
award statutory damages if the court determines both of the 511
following:512

       (a) That, based on the ordinary application of statutory law 513
and case law as it existed at the time of the conduct or 514
threatened conduct of the public office or person responsible for 515
the requested public records that allegedly constitutes a failure 516
to comply with an obligation in accordance with division (B) of 517
this section and that was the basis of the mandamus action, a 518
well-informed public office or person responsible for the 519
requested public records reasonably would believe that the conduct 520
or threatened conduct of the public office or person responsible 521
for the requested public records did not constitute a failure to 522
comply with an obligation in accordance with division (B) of this 523
section;524

       (b) That a well-informed public office or person responsible 525
for the requested public records reasonably would believe that the 526
conduct or threatened conduct of the public office or person 527
responsible for the requested public records would serve the 528
public policy that underlies the authority that is asserted as 529
permitting that conduct or threatened conduct.530

       (2)(a) If the court issues a writ of mandamus that orders the 531
public office or the person responsible for the public record to 532
comply with division (B) of this section and determines that the 533
circumstances described in division (C)(1) of this section exist, 534
the court shall determine and award to the relator all court 535
costs.536

       (b) If the court renders a judgment that orders the public 537
office or the person responsible for the public record to comply 538
with division (B) of this section, the court may award reasonable 539
attorney's fees subject to reduction as described in division 540
(C)(2)(c) of this section. The court shall award reasonable 541
attorney's fees, subject to reduction as described in division 542
(C)(2)(c) of this section when either of the following applies:543

        (i) The public office or the person responsible for the 544
public records failed to respond affirmatively or negatively to 545
the public records request in accordance with the time allowed 546
under division (B) of this section.547

        (ii) The public office or the person responsible for the 548
public records promised to permit the relator to inspect or 549
receive copies of the public records requested within a specified 550
period of time but failed to fulfill that promise within that 551
specified period of time.552

       (c) Court costs and reasonable attorney's fees awarded under 553
this section shall be construed as remedial and not punitive. 554
Reasonable attorney's fees shall include reasonable fees incurred 555
to produce proof of the reasonableness and amount of the fees and 556
to otherwise litigate entitlement to the fees. The court may 557
reduce an award of attorney's fees to the relator or not award 558
attorney's fees to the relator if the court determines both of the 559
following:560

       (i) That, based on the ordinary application of statutory law 561
and case law as it existed at the time of the conduct or 562
threatened conduct of the public office or person responsible for 563
the requested public records that allegedly constitutes a failure 564
to comply with an obligation in accordance with division (B) of 565
this section and that was the basis of the mandamus action, a 566
well-informed public office or person responsible for the 567
requested public records reasonably would believe that the conduct 568
or threatened conduct of the public office or person responsible 569
for the requested public records did not constitute a failure to 570
comply with an obligation in accordance with division (B) of this 571
section;572

       (ii) That a well-informed public office or person responsible 573
for the requested public records reasonably would believe that the 574
conduct or threatened conduct of the public office or person 575
responsible for the requested public records as described in 576
division (C)(2)(c)(i) of this section would serve the public 577
policy that underlies the authority that is asserted as permitting 578
that conduct or threatened conduct.579

       (D) Chapter 1347. of the Revised Code does not limit the 580
provisions of this section.581

       (E)(1) To ensure that all employees of public offices are 582
appropriately educated about a public office's obligations under 583
division (B) of this section, all elected officials or their 584
appropriate designees shall attend training approved by the 585
attorney general as provided in section 109.43 of the Revised 586
Code. In addition, all public offices shall adopt a public records 587
policy in compliance with this section for responding to public 588
records requests. In adopting a public records policy under this 589
division, a public office may obtain guidance from the model 590
public records policy developed and provided to the public office 591
by the attorney general under section 109.43 of the Revised Code. 592
Except as otherwise provided in this section, the policy may not 593
limit the number of public records that the public office will 594
make available to a single person, may not limit the number of 595
public records that it will make available during a fixed period 596
of time, and may not establish a fixed period of time before it 597
will respond to a request for inspection or copying of public 598
records, unless that period is less than eight hours.599

       (2) The public office shall distribute the public records 600
policy adopted by the public office under division (E)(1) of this 601
section to the employee of the public office who is the records 602
custodian or records manager or otherwise has custody of the 603
records of that office. The public office shall require that 604
employee to acknowledge receipt of the copy of the public records 605
policy. The public office shall create a poster that describes its 606
public records policy and shall post the poster in a conspicuous 607
place in the public office and in all locations where the public 608
office has branch offices. The public office may post its public 609
records policy on the internet web site of the public office if 610
the public office maintains an internet web site. A public office 611
that has established a manual or handbook of its general policies 612
and procedures for all employees of the public office shall 613
include the public records policy of the public office in the 614
manual or handbook.615

       (F)(1) The bureau of motor vehicles may adopt rules pursuant 616
to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to reasonably limit the number 617
of bulk commercial special extraction requests made by a person 618
for the same records or for updated records during a calendar 619
year. The rules may include provisions for charges to be made for 620
bulk commercial special extraction requests for the actual cost of 621
the bureau, plus special extraction costs, plus ten per cent. The 622
bureau may charge for expenses for redacting information, the 623
release of which is prohibited by law.624

       (2) As used in division (F)(1) of this section:625

       (a) "Actual cost" means the cost of depleted supplies, 626
records storage media costs, actual mailing and alternative 627
delivery costs, or other transmitting costs, and any direct 628
equipment operating and maintenance costs, including actual costs 629
paid to private contractors for copying services.630

       (b) "Bulk commercial special extraction request" means a 631
request for copies of a record for information in a format other 632
than the format already available, or information that cannot be 633
extracted without examination of all items in a records series, 634
class of records, or database by a person who intends to use or 635
forward the copies for surveys, marketing, solicitation, or resale 636
for commercial purposes. "Bulk commercial special extraction 637
request" does not include a request by a person who gives 638
assurance to the bureau that the person making the request does 639
not intend to use or forward the requested copies for surveys, 640
marketing, solicitation, or resale for commercial purposes.641

       (c) "Commercial" means profit-seeking production, buying, or 642
selling of any good, service, or other product.643

       (d) "Special extraction costs" means the cost of the time 644
spent by the lowest paid employee competent to perform the task, 645
the actual amount paid to outside private contractors employed by 646
the bureau, or the actual cost incurred to create computer 647
programs to make the special extraction. "Special extraction 648
costs" include any charges paid to a public agency for computer or 649
records services.650

       (3) For purposes of divisions (F)(1) and (2) of this section, 651
"surveys, marketing, solicitation, or resale for commercial 652
purposes" shall be narrowly construed and does not include 653
reporting or gathering news, reporting or gathering information to 654
assist citizen oversight or understanding of the operation or 655
activities of government, or nonprofit educational research.656

       Sec. 2949.221.  (A) As used in this section, "lethal 657
injection" means the application of a lethal injection of drugs or 658
a combination of drugs in carrying out a sentence of death.659

       (B) The general assembly hereby determines and declares that 660
it recognizes and finds all of the following:661

       (1) To protect the identities of persons who assist the 662
department of rehabilitation and correction in carrying out a 663
court-ordered sentence of death by lethal injection, and to 664
protect those persons from harassment and potential physical harm, 665
it is necessary to keep their identities anonymous and absolutely 666
confidential.667

       (2) In other states that carry out death sentences by lethal 668
injection, persons who provide assistance in the lethal injection 669
process, and their businesses, have been subjected to actual 670
threats of physical harm and to harassment, and the persons have 671
been subjected to risks to personal safety.672

       (3) Absent protections of confidentiality and anonymity, the 673
department of rehabilitation and correction cannot obtain the 674
necessary assistance of persons in carrying out a court-ordered 675
sentence of death by lethal injection or the drugs needed to 676
administer such a sentence.677

       (4) This section and section 2949.222 of the Revised Code are 678
designed to prevent and preclude foreign and domestic 679
corporations, partnerships, companies, or persons from obstructing 680
justice by interfering with the lawful enforcement of state court 681
judgments, which enforcement is a fundamental task of any 682
sovereignty, as implemented by division (A) of section 2949.22 of 683
the Revised Code, by entering into contracts designed to prevent 684
the department of rehabilitation and correction from obtaining the 685
drugs, or combination of drugs, necessary to carry out lawful 686
executions by lethal injection ordered by the courts of this 687
state.688

       Sec. 2949.222.  (A) As used in this section:689

       (1) "Person" has the same meaning as in section 1.59 of the 690
Revised Code.691

       (2) "Licensing authority" means an entity, board, department, 692
commission, association, or agency that issues a license to a 693
person or entity.694

       (B) If a person manufactures, compounds, imports, transports, 695
distributes, supplies, prescribes, prepares, administers, uses, or 696
tests any of the compounding equipment or components, the active 697
pharmaceutical ingredients, the drugs or combination of drugs, the 698
medical supplies, or the medical equipment used in the application 699
of a lethal injection of a drug or combination of drugs in the 700
administration of a death sentence by lethal injection as provided 701
for in division (A) of section 2949.22 of the Revised Code, 702
notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, all of the 703
following apply regarding any information or record that 704
identifies or reasonably leads to the identification of the 705
person:706

       (1) The information or record shall be classified as 707
confidential, is privileged under law, and is not subject to 708
disclosure by any person, state agency, governmental entity, 709
board, or commission or any political subdivision as a public 710
record under section 149.43 of the Revised Code or otherwise.711

       (2) The information or record shall not be subject to 712
disclosure by or during any judicial proceeding, inquiry, or 713
process.714

       (3) The information or record shall not be subject to 715
discovery, subpoena, or any other means of legal compulsion for 716
disclosure to any person or entity.717

       (C)(1) If an employee or former employee of the department of 718
rehabilitation and correction or any other individual selected or 719
designated by the director of the department participates or 720
participated in the administration of a sentence of death by 721
lethal injection, as provided for in division (A) of section 722
2949.22 of the Revised Code, subject to division (C)(2) of this 723
section and notwithstanding any other provision of law to the 724
contrary, the protections and limitations specified in divisions 725
(B)(1), (2), and (3) of this section regarding information and 726
records that are within the coverage of division (A) of this 727
section shall apply regarding any information or record that 728
identifies or reasonably leads to the identification of the 729
employee, former employee, or other individual described in this 730
division.731

       (2) Division (C)(1) of this section does not apply with 732
respect to information or a record that identifies or reasonably 733
leads to the identification of the director of rehabilitation and 734
correction or the warden of the state correctional institution in 735
which the administration of the sentence of death takes place.736

       (D) If a person or entity that participates in, consults 737
regarding, performs any function with respect to, including any 738
activity described in division (B) of this section, or provides 739
any expert opinion testimony regarding an execution by lethal 740
injection conducted in accordance with division (A) of section 741
2949.22 of the Revised Code is licensed by a licensing authority, 742
notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the 743
licensing authority shall not do any of the following as a result 744
of that participation, consultation, performance, activity, or 745
testimony by the person or entity:746

       (1) Challenge, reprimand, suspend, or revoke the person's or 747
entity's license;748

       (2) Take any disciplinary action against the person or entity 749
or the person's or entity's licensure.750

       (E) A person may not, without the approval of the director of 751
rehabilitation and correction, knowingly disclose the identity of 752
any person to whom division (B) of this section applies or of an 753
employee, former employee, or other individual to whom division 754
(C)(1) of this section applies. Any person, employee, former 755
employee, or individual whose identity is disclosed in violation 756
of this division has a civil cause of action against any person 757
who discloses the identity in violation of this division. In a 758
civil action brought under this division, the plaintiff is 759
entitled to recover from the defendant actual damages, punitive or 760
exemplary damages upon a showing of a willful violation of this 761
division, and reasonable attorney's fees and court costs.762

       (F) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, any 763
contract, subcontract, agreement, addendum, or understanding, or 764
any portion of any such document or understanding, that does 765
either of the following is void and unenforceable as against 766
public policy, as a matter of law, and shall not be recognized or 767
enforced by any court against any entity, including, but not 768
limited to, the state, state agency, governmental entity, or 769
political subdivision that is a party to the document, 770
understanding, or portion, any private corporation, or any person:771

       (1) Any such document, understanding, or portion that 772
prohibits the sale, distribution, or transfer of any drug or 773
combination of drugs to the state or to a state agency, 774
governmental entity, or political subdivision for use in the 775
administration of a death sentence by lethal injection as provided 776
for in division (A) of section 2949.22 of the Revised Code;777

       (2) Any such document, understanding, or portion that is 778
designed to prevent the state or a state agency, governmental 779
entity, or political subdivision from obtaining any drug or 780
combination of drugs for a use described in division (F)(1) of 781
this section.782

       Section 2.  That existing section 149.43 of the Revised Code 783
is hereby repealed.784

       Section 3. That the version of section 149.43 of the Revised 785
Code that is scheduled to take effect on March 20, 2015, be 786
amended to read as follows:787

       Sec. 149.43.  (A) As used in this section:788

       (1) "Public record" means records kept by any public office, 789
including, but not limited to, state, county, city, village, 790
township, and school district units, and records pertaining to the 791
delivery of educational services by an alternative school in this 792
state kept by the nonprofit or for-profit entity operating the 793
alternative school pursuant to section 3313.533 of the Revised 794
Code. "Public record" does not mean any of the following:795

       (a) Medical records;796

       (b) Records pertaining to probation and parole proceedings or 797
to proceedings related to the imposition of community control 798
sanctions and post-release control sanctions;799

       (c) Records pertaining to actions under section 2151.85 and 800
division (C) of section 2919.121 of the Revised Code and to 801
appeals of actions arising under those sections;802

       (d) Records pertaining to adoption proceedings, including the 803
contents of an adoption file maintained by the department of 804
health under sections 3705.12 to 3705.124 of the Revised Code;805

       (e) Information in a record contained in the putative father 806
registry established by section 3107.062 of the Revised Code, 807
regardless of whether the information is held by the department of 808
job and family services or, pursuant to section 3111.69 of the 809
Revised Code, the office of child support in the department or a 810
child support enforcement agency;811

       (f) Records specified in division (A) of section 3107.52 of 812
the Revised Code;813

       (g) Trial preparation records;814

       (h) Confidential law enforcement investigatory records;815

       (i) Records containing information that is confidential under 816
section 2710.03 or 4112.05 of the Revised Code;817

       (j) DNA records stored in the DNA database pursuant to 818
section 109.573 of the Revised Code;819

       (k) Inmate records released by the department of 820
rehabilitation and correction to the department of youth services 821
or a court of record pursuant to division (E) of section 5120.21 822
of the Revised Code;823

       (l) Records maintained by the department of youth services 824
pertaining to children in its custody released by the department 825
of youth services to the department of rehabilitation and 826
correction pursuant to section 5139.05 of the Revised Code;827

       (m) Intellectual property records;828

       (n) Donor profile records;829

       (o) Records maintained by the department of job and family 830
services pursuant to section 3121.894 of the Revised Code;831

       (p) Peace officer, parole officer, probation officer, 832
bailiff, prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, 833
correctional employee, community-based correctional facility 834
employee, youth services employee, firefighter, EMT, or 835
investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and 836
investigation residential and familial information;837

       (q) In the case of a county hospital operated pursuant to 838
Chapter 339. of the Revised Code or a municipal hospital operated 839
pursuant to Chapter 749. of the Revised Code, information that 840
constitutes a trade secret, as defined in section 1333.61 of the 841
Revised Code;842

       (r) Information pertaining to the recreational activities of 843
a person under the age of eighteen;844

       (s) Records provided to, statements made by review board 845
members during meetings of, and all work products of a child 846
fatality review board acting under sections 307.621 to 307.629 of 847
the Revised Code, and child fatality review data submitted by the 848
child fatality review board to the department of health or a 849
national child death review database, other than the report 850
prepared pursuant to division (A) of section 307.626 of the 851
Revised Code;852

       (t) Records provided to and statements made by the executive 853
director of a public children services agency or a prosecuting 854
attorney acting pursuant to section 5153.171 of the Revised Code 855
other than the information released under that section;856

       (u) Test materials, examinations, or evaluation tools used in 857
an examination for licensure as a nursing home administrator that 858
the board of executives of long-term services and supports 859
administers under section 4751.04 of the Revised Code or contracts 860
under that section with a private or government entity to 861
administer;862

       (v) Records the release of which is prohibited by state or 863
federal law;864

       (w) Proprietary information of or relating to any person that 865
is submitted to or compiled by the Ohio venture capital authority 866
created under section 150.01 of the Revised Code;867

       (x) Financial statements and data any person submits for any 868
purpose to the Ohio housing finance agency or the controlling 869
board in connection with applying for, receiving, or accounting 870
for financial assistance from the agency, and information that 871
identifies any individual who benefits directly or indirectly from 872
financial assistance from the agency;873

       (y) Records listed in section 5101.29 of the Revised Code;874

       (z) Discharges recorded with a county recorder under section 875
317.24 of the Revised Code, as specified in division (B)(2) of 876
that section;877

       (aa) Usage information including names and addresses of 878
specific residential and commercial customers of a municipally 879
owned or operated public utility;880

       (bb) Records described in division (C) of section 187.04 of 881
the Revised Code that are not designated to be made available to 882
the public as provided in that division;883

       (cc) Information and records that relate in any manner to the 884
execution of a sentence of death and that are made confidential, 885
privileged, and not subject to disclosure under section 2949.222 886
of the Revised Code.887

       (2) "Confidential law enforcement investigatory record" means 888
any record that pertains to a law enforcement matter of a 889
criminal, quasi-criminal, civil, or administrative nature, but 890
only to the extent that the release of the record would create a 891
high probability of disclosure of any of the following:892

       (a) The identity of a suspect who has not been charged with 893
the offense to which the record pertains, or of an information 894
source or witness to whom confidentiality has been reasonably 895
promised;896

       (b) Information provided by an information source or witness 897
to whom confidentiality has been reasonably promised, which 898
information would reasonably tend to disclose the source's or 899
witness's identity;900

       (c) Specific confidential investigatory techniques or 901
procedures or specific investigatory work product;902

       (d) Information that would endanger the life or physical 903
safety of law enforcement personnel, a crime victim, a witness, or 904
a confidential information source.905

       (3) "Medical record" means any document or combination of 906
documents, except births, deaths, and the fact of admission to or 907
discharge from a hospital, that pertains to the medical history, 908
diagnosis, prognosis, or medical condition of a patient and that 909
is generated and maintained in the process of medical treatment.910

       (4) "Trial preparation record" means any record that contains 911
information that is specifically compiled in reasonable 912
anticipation of, or in defense of, a civil or criminal action or 913
proceeding, including the independent thought processes and 914
personal trial preparation of an attorney.915

       (5) "Intellectual property record" means a record, other than 916
a financial or administrative record, that is produced or 917
collected by or for faculty or staff of a state institution of 918
higher learning in the conduct of or as a result of study or 919
research on an educational, commercial, scientific, artistic, 920
technical, or scholarly issue, regardless of whether the study or 921
research was sponsored by the institution alone or in conjunction 922
with a governmental body or private concern, and that has not been 923
publicly released, published, or patented.924

       (6) "Donor profile record" means all records about donors or 925
potential donors to a public institution of higher education 926
except the names and reported addresses of the actual donors and 927
the date, amount, and conditions of the actual donation.928

       (7) "Peace officer, parole officer, probation officer, 929
bailiff, prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, 930
correctional employee, community-based correctional facility 931
employee, youth services employee, firefighter, EMT, or 932
investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and 933
investigation residential and familial information" means any 934
information that discloses any of the following about a peace 935
officer, parole officer, probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting 936
attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, 937
community-based correctional facility employee, youth services 938
employee, firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau of 939
criminal identification and investigation:940

       (a) The address of the actual personal residence of a peace 941
officer, parole officer, probation officer, bailiff, assistant 942
prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, community-based 943
correctional facility employee, youth services employee, 944
firefighter, EMT, or an investigator of the bureau of criminal 945
identification and investigation, except for the state or 946
political subdivision in which the peace officer, parole officer, 947
probation officer, bailiff, assistant prosecuting attorney, 948
correctional employee, community-based correctional facility 949
employee, youth services employee, firefighter, EMT, or 950
investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and 951
investigation resides;952

       (b) Information compiled from referral to or participation in 953
an employee assistance program;954

       (c) The social security number, the residential telephone 955
number, any bank account, debit card, charge card, or credit card 956
number, or the emergency telephone number of, or any medical 957
information pertaining to, a peace officer, parole officer, 958
probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting attorney, assistant 959
prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, community-based 960
correctional facility employee, youth services employee, 961
firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau of criminal 962
identification and investigation;963

       (d) The name of any beneficiary of employment benefits, 964
including, but not limited to, life insurance benefits, provided 965
to a peace officer, parole officer, probation officer, bailiff, 966
prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional 967
employee, community-based correctional facility employee, youth 968
services employee, firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau 969
of criminal identification and investigation by the peace 970
officer's, parole officer's, probation officer's, bailiff's, 971
prosecuting attorney's, assistant prosecuting attorney's, 972
correctional employee's, community-based correctional facility 973
employee's, youth services employee's, firefighter's, EMT's, or 974
investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and 975
investigation's employer;976

       (e) The identity and amount of any charitable or employment 977
benefit deduction made by the peace officer's, parole officer's, 978
probation officer's, bailiff's, prosecuting attorney's, assistant 979
prosecuting attorney's, correctional employee's, community-based 980
correctional facility employee's, youth services employee's, 981
firefighter's, EMT's, or investigator of the bureau of criminal 982
identification and investigation's employer from the peace 983
officer's, parole officer's, probation officer's, bailiff's, 984
prosecuting attorney's, assistant prosecuting attorney's, 985
correctional employee's, community-based correctional facility 986
employee's, youth services employee's, firefighter's, EMT's, or 987
investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and 988
investigation's compensation unless the amount of the deduction is 989
required by state or federal law;990

       (f) The name, the residential address, the name of the 991
employer, the address of the employer, the social security number, 992
the residential telephone number, any bank account, debit card, 993
charge card, or credit card number, or the emergency telephone 994
number of the spouse, a former spouse, or any child of a peace 995
officer, parole officer, probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting 996
attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, 997
community-based correctional facility employee, youth services 998
employee, firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau of 999
criminal identification and investigation;1000

       (g) A photograph of a peace officer who holds a position or 1001
has an assignment that may include undercover or plain clothes 1002
positions or assignments as determined by the peace officer's 1003
appointing authority.1004

       As used in divisions (A)(7) and (B)(9) of this section, 1005
"peace officer" has the same meaning as in section 109.71 of the 1006
Revised Code and also includes the superintendent and troopers of 1007
the state highway patrol; it does not include the sheriff of a 1008
county or a supervisory employee who, in the absence of the 1009
sheriff, is authorized to stand in for, exercise the authority of, 1010
and perform the duties of the sheriff.1011

       As used in divisions (A)(7) and (B)(9) of this section, 1012
"correctional employee" means any employee of the department of 1013
rehabilitation and correction who in the course of performing the 1014
employee's job duties has or has had contact with inmates and 1015
persons under supervision.1016

        As used in divisions (A)(7) and (B)(9) of this section, 1017
"youth services employee" means any employee of the department of 1018
youth services who in the course of performing the employee's job 1019
duties has or has had contact with children committed to the 1020
custody of the department of youth services.1021

       As used in divisions (A)(7) and (B)(9) of this section, 1022
"firefighter" means any regular, paid or volunteer, member of a 1023
lawfully constituted fire department of a municipal corporation, 1024
township, fire district, or village.1025

       As used in divisions (A)(7) and (B)(9) of this section, "EMT" 1026
means EMTs-basic, EMTs-I, and paramedics that provide emergency 1027
medical services for a public emergency medical service 1028
organization. "Emergency medical service organization," 1029
"EMT-basic," "EMT-I," and "paramedic" have the same meanings as in 1030
section 4765.01 of the Revised Code.1031

       As used in divisions (A)(7) and (B)(9) of this section, 1032
"investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and 1033
investigation" has the meaning defined in section 2903.11 of the 1034
Revised Code.1035

       (8) "Information pertaining to the recreational activities of 1036
a person under the age of eighteen" means information that is kept 1037
in the ordinary course of business by a public office, that 1038
pertains to the recreational activities of a person under the age 1039
of eighteen years, and that discloses any of the following:1040

       (a) The address or telephone number of a person under the age 1041
of eighteen or the address or telephone number of that person's 1042
parent, guardian, custodian, or emergency contact person;1043

       (b) The social security number, birth date, or photographic 1044
image of a person under the age of eighteen;1045

       (c) Any medical record, history, or information pertaining to 1046
a person under the age of eighteen;1047

       (d) Any additional information sought or required about a 1048
person under the age of eighteen for the purpose of allowing that 1049
person to participate in any recreational activity conducted or 1050
sponsored by a public office or to use or obtain admission 1051
privileges to any recreational facility owned or operated by a 1052
public office.1053

       (9) "Community control sanction" has the same meaning as in 1054
section 2929.01 of the Revised Code.1055

       (10) "Post-release control sanction" has the same meaning as 1056
in section 2967.01 of the Revised Code.1057

        (11) "Redaction" means obscuring or deleting any information 1058
that is exempt from the duty to permit public inspection or 1059
copying from an item that otherwise meets the definition of a 1060
"record" in section 149.011 of the Revised Code.1061

       (12) "Designee" and "elected official" have the same meanings 1062
as in section 109.43 of the Revised Code.1063

       (B)(1) Upon request and subject to division (B)(8) of this 1064
section, all public records responsive to the request shall be 1065
promptly prepared and made available for inspection to any person 1066
at all reasonable times during regular business hours. Subject to 1067
division (B)(8) of this section, upon request, a public office or 1068
person responsible for public records shall make copies of the 1069
requested public record available at cost and within a reasonable 1070
period of time. If a public record contains information that is 1071
exempt from the duty to permit public inspection or to copy the 1072
public record, the public office or the person responsible for the 1073
public record shall make available all of the information within 1074
the public record that is not exempt. When making that public 1075
record available for public inspection or copying that public 1076
record, the public office or the person responsible for the public 1077
record shall notify the requester of any redaction or make the 1078
redaction plainly visible. A redaction shall be deemed a denial of 1079
a request to inspect or copy the redacted information, except if 1080
federal or state law authorizes or requires a public office to 1081
make the redaction.1082

       (2) To facilitate broader access to public records, a public 1083
office or the person responsible for public records shall organize 1084
and maintain public records in a manner that they can be made 1085
available for inspection or copying in accordance with division 1086
(B) of this section. A public office also shall have available a 1087
copy of its current records retention schedule at a location 1088
readily available to the public. If a requester makes an ambiguous 1089
or overly broad request or has difficulty in making a request for 1090
copies or inspection of public records under this section such 1091
that the public office or the person responsible for the requested 1092
public record cannot reasonably identify what public records are 1093
being requested, the public office or the person responsible for 1094
the requested public record may deny the request but shall provide 1095
the requester with an opportunity to revise the request by 1096
informing the requester of the manner in which records are 1097
maintained by the public office and accessed in the ordinary 1098
course of the public office's or person's duties.1099

       (3) If a request is ultimately denied, in part or in whole, 1100
the public office or the person responsible for the requested 1101
public record shall provide the requester with an explanation, 1102
including legal authority, setting forth why the request was 1103
denied. If the initial request was provided in writing, the 1104
explanation also shall be provided to the requester in writing. 1105
The explanation shall not preclude the public office or the person 1106
responsible for the requested public record from relying upon 1107
additional reasons or legal authority in defending an action 1108
commenced under division (C) of this section.1109

       (4) Unless specifically required or authorized by state or 1110
federal law or in accordance with division (B) of this section, no 1111
public office or person responsible for public records may limit 1112
or condition the availability of public records by requiring 1113
disclosure of the requester's identity or the intended use of the 1114
requested public record. Any requirement that the requester 1115
disclose the requestor's identity or the intended use of the 1116
requested public record constitutes a denial of the request.1117

       (5) A public office or person responsible for public records 1118
may ask a requester to make the request in writing, may ask for 1119
the requester's identity, and may inquire about the intended use 1120
of the information requested, but may do so only after disclosing 1121
to the requester that a written request is not mandatory and that 1122
the requester may decline to reveal the requester's identity or 1123
the intended use and when a written request or disclosure of the 1124
identity or intended use would benefit the requester by enhancing 1125
the ability of the public office or person responsible for public 1126
records to identify, locate, or deliver the public records sought 1127
by the requester.1128

       (6) If any person chooses to obtain a copy of a public record 1129
in accordance with division (B) of this section, the public office 1130
or person responsible for the public record may require that 1131
person to pay in advance the cost involved in providing the copy 1132
of the public record in accordance with the choice made by the 1133
person seeking the copy under this division. The public office or 1134
the person responsible for the public record shall permit that 1135
person to choose to have the public record duplicated upon paper, 1136
upon the same medium upon which the public office or person 1137
responsible for the public record keeps it, or upon any other 1138
medium upon which the public office or person responsible for the 1139
public record determines that it reasonably can be duplicated as 1140
an integral part of the normal operations of the public office or 1141
person responsible for the public record. When the person seeking 1142
the copy makes a choice under this division, the public office or 1143
person responsible for the public record shall provide a copy of 1144
it in accordance with the choice made by the person seeking the 1145
copy. Nothing in this section requires a public office or person 1146
responsible for the public record to allow the person seeking a 1147
copy of the public record to make the copies of the public record.1148

       (7) Upon a request made in accordance with division (B) of 1149
this section and subject to division (B)(6) of this section, a 1150
public office or person responsible for public records shall 1151
transmit a copy of a public record to any person by United States 1152
mail or by any other means of delivery or transmission within a 1153
reasonable period of time after receiving the request for the 1154
copy. The public office or person responsible for the public 1155
record may require the person making the request to pay in advance 1156
the cost of postage if the copy is transmitted by United States 1157
mail or the cost of delivery if the copy is transmitted other than 1158
by United States mail, and to pay in advance the costs incurred 1159
for other supplies used in the mailing, delivery, or transmission.1160

       Any public office may adopt a policy and procedures that it 1161
will follow in transmitting, within a reasonable period of time 1162
after receiving a request, copies of public records by United 1163
States mail or by any other means of delivery or transmission 1164
pursuant to this division. A public office that adopts a policy 1165
and procedures under this division shall comply with them in 1166
performing its duties under this division.1167

       In any policy and procedures adopted under this division, a 1168
public office may limit the number of records requested by a 1169
person that the office will transmit by United States mail to ten 1170
per month, unless the person certifies to the office in writing 1171
that the person does not intend to use or forward the requested 1172
records, or the information contained in them, for commercial 1173
purposes. For purposes of this division, "commercial" shall be 1174
narrowly construed and does not include reporting or gathering 1175
news, reporting or gathering information to assist citizen 1176
oversight or understanding of the operation or activities of 1177
government, or nonprofit educational research.1178

       (8) A public office or person responsible for public records 1179
is not required to permit a person who is incarcerated pursuant to 1180
a criminal conviction or a juvenile adjudication to inspect or to 1181
obtain a copy of any public record concerning a criminal 1182
investigation or prosecution or concerning what would be a 1183
criminal investigation or prosecution if the subject of the 1184
investigation or prosecution were an adult, unless the request to 1185
inspect or to obtain a copy of the record is for the purpose of 1186
acquiring information that is subject to release as a public 1187
record under this section and the judge who imposed the sentence 1188
or made the adjudication with respect to the person, or the 1189
judge's successor in office, finds that the information sought in 1190
the public record is necessary to support what appears to be a 1191
justiciable claim of the person.1192

       (9)(a) Upon written request made and signed by a journalist 1193
on or after December 16, 1999, a public office, or person 1194
responsible for public records, having custody of the records of 1195
the agency employing a specified peace officer, parole officer, 1196
probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting attorney, assistant 1197
prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, community-based 1198
correctional facility employee, youth services employee, 1199
firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau of criminal 1200
identification and investigation shall disclose to the journalist 1201
the address of the actual personal residence of the peace officer, 1202
parole officer, probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting attorney, 1203
assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, 1204
community-based correctional facility employee, youth services 1205
employee, firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau of 1206
criminal identification and investigation and, if the peace 1207
officer's, parole officer's, probation officer's, bailiff's, 1208
prosecuting attorney's, assistant prosecuting attorney's, 1209
correctional employee's, community-based correctional facility 1210
employee's, youth services employee's, firefighter's, EMT's, or 1211
investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and 1212
investigation's spouse, former spouse, or child is employed by a 1213
public office, the name and address of the employer of the peace 1214
officer's, parole officer's, probation officer's, bailiff's, 1215
prosecuting attorney's, assistant prosecuting attorney's, 1216
correctional employee's, community-based correctional facility 1217
employee's, youth services employee's, firefighter's, EMT's, or 1218
investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and 1219
investigation's spouse, former spouse, or child. The request shall 1220
include the journalist's name and title and the name and address 1221
of the journalist's employer and shall state that disclosure of 1222
the information sought would be in the public interest.1223

       (b) Division (B)(9)(a) of this section also applies to 1224
journalist requests for customer information maintained by a 1225
municipally owned or operated public utility, other than social 1226
security numbers and any private financial information such as 1227
credit reports, payment methods, credit card numbers, and bank 1228
account information.1229

       (c) As used in division (B)(9) of this section, "journalist" 1230
means a person engaged in, connected with, or employed by any news 1231
medium, including a newspaper, magazine, press association, news 1232
agency, or wire service, a radio or television station, or a 1233
similar medium, for the purpose of gathering, processing, 1234
transmitting, compiling, editing, or disseminating information for 1235
the general public.1236

       (C)(1) If a person allegedly is aggrieved by the failure of a 1237
public office or the person responsible for public records to 1238
promptly prepare a public record and to make it available to the 1239
person for inspection in accordance with division (B) of this 1240
section or by any other failure of a public office or the person 1241
responsible for public records to comply with an obligation in 1242
accordance with division (B) of this section, the person allegedly 1243
aggrieved may commence a mandamus action to obtain a judgment that 1244
orders the public office or the person responsible for the public 1245
record to comply with division (B) of this section, that awards 1246
court costs and reasonable attorney's fees to the person that 1247
instituted the mandamus action, and, if applicable, that includes 1248
an order fixing statutory damages under division (C)(1) of this 1249
section. The mandamus action may be commenced in the court of 1250
common pleas of the county in which division (B) of this section 1251
allegedly was not complied with, in the supreme court pursuant to 1252
its original jurisdiction under Section 2 of Article IV, Ohio 1253
Constitution, or in the court of appeals for the appellate 1254
district in which division (B) of this section allegedly was not 1255
complied with pursuant to its original jurisdiction under Section 1256
3 of Article IV, Ohio Constitution.1257

       If a requestor transmits a written request by hand delivery 1258
or certified mail to inspect or receive copies of any public 1259
record in a manner that fairly describes the public record or 1260
class of public records to the public office or person responsible 1261
for the requested public records, except as otherwise provided in 1262
this section, the requestor shall be entitled to recover the 1263
amount of statutory damages set forth in this division if a court 1264
determines that the public office or the person responsible for 1265
public records failed to comply with an obligation in accordance 1266
with division (B) of this section.1267

       The amount of statutory damages shall be fixed at one hundred 1268
dollars for each business day during which the public office or 1269
person responsible for the requested public records failed to 1270
comply with an obligation in accordance with division (B) of this 1271
section, beginning with the day on which the requester files a 1272
mandamus action to recover statutory damages, up to a maximum of 1273
one thousand dollars. The award of statutory damages shall not be 1274
construed as a penalty, but as compensation for injury arising 1275
from lost use of the requested information. The existence of this 1276
injury shall be conclusively presumed. The award of statutory 1277
damages shall be in addition to all other remedies authorized by 1278
this section.1279

       The court may reduce an award of statutory damages or not 1280
award statutory damages if the court determines both of the 1281
following:1282

       (a) That, based on the ordinary application of statutory law 1283
and case law as it existed at the time of the conduct or 1284
threatened conduct of the public office or person responsible for 1285
the requested public records that allegedly constitutes a failure 1286
to comply with an obligation in accordance with division (B) of 1287
this section and that was the basis of the mandamus action, a 1288
well-informed public office or person responsible for the 1289
requested public records reasonably would believe that the conduct 1290
or threatened conduct of the public office or person responsible 1291
for the requested public records did not constitute a failure to 1292
comply with an obligation in accordance with division (B) of this 1293
section;1294

       (b) That a well-informed public office or person responsible 1295
for the requested public records reasonably would believe that the 1296
conduct or threatened conduct of the public office or person 1297
responsible for the requested public records would serve the 1298
public policy that underlies the authority that is asserted as 1299
permitting that conduct or threatened conduct.1300

       (2)(a) If the court issues a writ of mandamus that orders the 1301
public office or the person responsible for the public record to 1302
comply with division (B) of this section and determines that the 1303
circumstances described in division (C)(1) of this section exist, 1304
the court shall determine and award to the relator all court 1305
costs.1306

       (b) If the court renders a judgment that orders the public 1307
office or the person responsible for the public record to comply 1308
with division (B) of this section, the court may award reasonable 1309
attorney's fees subject to reduction as described in division 1310
(C)(2)(c) of this section. The court shall award reasonable 1311
attorney's fees, subject to reduction as described in division 1312
(C)(2)(c) of this section when either of the following applies:1313

        (i) The public office or the person responsible for the 1314
public records failed to respond affirmatively or negatively to 1315
the public records request in accordance with the time allowed 1316
under division (B) of this section.1317

        (ii) The public office or the person responsible for the 1318
public records promised to permit the relator to inspect or 1319
receive copies of the public records requested within a specified 1320
period of time but failed to fulfill that promise within that 1321
specified period of time.1322

       (c) Court costs and reasonable attorney's fees awarded under 1323
this section shall be construed as remedial and not punitive. 1324
Reasonable attorney's fees shall include reasonable fees incurred 1325
to produce proof of the reasonableness and amount of the fees and 1326
to otherwise litigate entitlement to the fees. The court may 1327
reduce an award of attorney's fees to the relator or not award 1328
attorney's fees to the relator if the court determines both of the 1329
following:1330

       (i) That, based on the ordinary application of statutory law 1331
and case law as it existed at the time of the conduct or 1332
threatened conduct of the public office or person responsible for 1333
the requested public records that allegedly constitutes a failure 1334
to comply with an obligation in accordance with division (B) of 1335
this section and that was the basis of the mandamus action, a 1336
well-informed public office or person responsible for the 1337
requested public records reasonably would believe that the conduct 1338
or threatened conduct of the public office or person responsible 1339
for the requested public records did not constitute a failure to 1340
comply with an obligation in accordance with division (B) of this 1341
section;1342

       (ii) That a well-informed public office or person responsible 1343
for the requested public records reasonably would believe that the 1344
conduct or threatened conduct of the public office or person 1345
responsible for the requested public records as described in 1346
division (C)(2)(c)(i) of this section would serve the public 1347
policy that underlies the authority that is asserted as permitting 1348
that conduct or threatened conduct.1349

       (D) Chapter 1347. of the Revised Code does not limit the 1350
provisions of this section.1351

       (E)(1) To ensure that all employees of public offices are 1352
appropriately educated about a public office's obligations under 1353
division (B) of this section, all elected officials or their 1354
appropriate designees shall attend training approved by the 1355
attorney general as provided in section 109.43 of the Revised 1356
Code. In addition, all public offices shall adopt a public records 1357
policy in compliance with this section for responding to public 1358
records requests. In adopting a public records policy under this 1359
division, a public office may obtain guidance from the model 1360
public records policy developed and provided to the public office 1361
by the attorney general under section 109.43 of the Revised Code. 1362
Except as otherwise provided in this section, the policy may not 1363
limit the number of public records that the public office will 1364
make available to a single person, may not limit the number of 1365
public records that it will make available during a fixed period 1366
of time, and may not establish a fixed period of time before it 1367
will respond to a request for inspection or copying of public 1368
records, unless that period is less than eight hours.1369

       (2) The public office shall distribute the public records 1370
policy adopted by the public office under division (E)(1) of this 1371
section to the employee of the public office who is the records 1372
custodian or records manager or otherwise has custody of the 1373
records of that office. The public office shall require that 1374
employee to acknowledge receipt of the copy of the public records 1375
policy. The public office shall create a poster that describes its 1376
public records policy and shall post the poster in a conspicuous 1377
place in the public office and in all locations where the public 1378
office has branch offices. The public office may post its public 1379
records policy on the internet web site of the public office if 1380
the public office maintains an internet web site. A public office 1381
that has established a manual or handbook of its general policies 1382
and procedures for all employees of the public office shall 1383
include the public records policy of the public office in the 1384
manual or handbook.1385

       (F)(1) The bureau of motor vehicles may adopt rules pursuant 1386
to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to reasonably limit the number 1387
of bulk commercial special extraction requests made by a person 1388
for the same records or for updated records during a calendar 1389
year. The rules may include provisions for charges to be made for 1390
bulk commercial special extraction requests for the actual cost of 1391
the bureau, plus special extraction costs, plus ten per cent. The 1392
bureau may charge for expenses for redacting information, the 1393
release of which is prohibited by law.1394

       (2) As used in division (F)(1) of this section:1395

       (a) "Actual cost" means the cost of depleted supplies, 1396
records storage media costs, actual mailing and alternative 1397
delivery costs, or other transmitting costs, and any direct 1398
equipment operating and maintenance costs, including actual costs 1399
paid to private contractors for copying services.1400

       (b) "Bulk commercial special extraction request" means a 1401
request for copies of a record for information in a format other 1402
than the format already available, or information that cannot be 1403
extracted without examination of all items in a records series, 1404
class of records, or database by a person who intends to use or 1405
forward the copies for surveys, marketing, solicitation, or resale 1406
for commercial purposes. "Bulk commercial special extraction 1407
request" does not include a request by a person who gives 1408
assurance to the bureau that the person making the request does 1409
not intend to use or forward the requested copies for surveys, 1410
marketing, solicitation, or resale for commercial purposes.1411

       (c) "Commercial" means profit-seeking production, buying, or 1412
selling of any good, service, or other product.1413

       (d) "Special extraction costs" means the cost of the time 1414
spent by the lowest paid employee competent to perform the task, 1415
the actual amount paid to outside private contractors employed by 1416
the bureau, or the actual cost incurred to create computer 1417
programs to make the special extraction. "Special extraction 1418
costs" include any charges paid to a public agency for computer or 1419
records services.1420

       (3) For purposes of divisions (F)(1) and (2) of this section, 1421
"surveys, marketing, solicitation, or resale for commercial 1422
purposes" shall be narrowly construed and does not include 1423
reporting or gathering news, reporting or gathering information to 1424
assist citizen oversight or understanding of the operation or 1425
activities of government, or nonprofit educational research.1426

       Section 4. That the existing version of section 149.43 of the 1427
Revised Code that is scheduled to take effect on March 20, 2015, 1428
is hereby repealed. 1429

       Section 5. Sections 3 and 4 of this act shall take effect on 1430
March 20, 2015.1431